Water Supply Depletion
Coming directly from our fresh water and groundwater resources, anywhere from “1.5 million to 16 million gallons of water can be used to frack a single well” [6]. This water is unable to be returned to the freshwater consumption cycle due to the chemical contaminants pumped into the fracking fluid. This water waste is especially dangerous in areas where drinking water is not abundant leaving communities around fracking sites with limited water. Trends towards the use of non-potable water for fracking have begun reducing the consumption of millions of gallons of drinking water for fracking.
Figure 4: Water consumption [6]
Water and Air Contamination
As anyone could expect, human creations involving dangerous chemicals are not always perfect in containing these chemicals and preventing them from polluting essential aspects of life such as water and air.
Spills and leaks within fracking wells are too common to be ignored. “Between 2006 and 2012, 151 spills were reported with 10% of those spills ending up in creeks, streams, or other bodies of water” [6]. Pollution of these sources of fresh water can have a lasting impact far from the spill site. As the creeks and streams flow, so do the chemicals that pollute them. Just because a spill appears to be contained in a pre-dug well, it may travel much further than expected contaminating drinking water for humans far from the spill site.
During well construction, high pressures may cause pipes to burst leaking natural gas and other contaminants into the air. In 2013, a well malfunction during construction sprayed wastewater into the air calling for an evacuation of those living in the surrounding area until the well could be capped [6]. Residents living near these wells are being subject to sometimes uncontrollable conditions that pollute the air with chemicals that can have long lasting effects on the body.
Figure 5: Wastewater containing chemicals spraying into the air during construction [6]
Wastewater Mismanagement
After a well is drained of natural gas, the millions of gallons of fracking fluid containing sand, chemicals, and trace amounts of natural gas must be taken care of in a safe manner, but this does not always happen. Storing this water in pits allows for the release of these chemicals into groundwater resources that are often used as drinking water. Trying to treat this water does not always work as the by-product TENORM (technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material) is concentrated through recycling the wastewater and is difficult to manage [6]. The chemical recipe used in fracking fluid is different for each company, and is often not revealed, making it harder to treat each batch of used fracking fluid.
Methane, the most common component of natural gas, is commonly released into the air as it is impossible to recover 100% of the gas that is extracted from the ground. Methane acts as a greenhouse gas and traps heat more than 80 times as much as carbon dioxide accelerating the impacts of climate change [6]. Some of the other air contaminants include benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene, hydrogen sulfide, silica dust, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds [6]. The mixture of these chemicals in the air leads to the creation of smog causing severe respiratory and cardiovascular damage [6].
Earthquakes
Since 2009, there has been an “unprecedented increase” in the number of earthquakes occurring throughout the United states with fracking wells and their disposal of wastewater to blame [6]. As mentioned previously in the storage of used fracking fluids, there is great pressure as the wells are sealed up full of the used fracking fluids. This pressure is great enough to sometimes cause shifts in the rock underground that are felt on the surface as earthquakes. These fracking-induced earthquakes are not catastrophic in magnitude, but they are dangerous for nearby residents by sometimes causing immense property damage.